Douglas County School

Good afternoon, DCSD Families,

I hope the school year is going well for your family. This fall weather is just gorgeous! I have loved being out in our schools and seeing the great learning going on. Our teachers and leaders are doing an amazing job of focusing on the achievement and growth of every one of our students and that focus is evident in every classroom I have had the pleasure of visiting. It has also been a joy to see so much positive parental involvement in our schools - thank you for all that you are doing to support our teachers and our kids.

I have some important updates that I want to share with all of you on a variety of topics. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read through these.

Local Voter’s Guide Statements About 5A and 5B
During the Board meeting on Tuesday, I addressed some of the comments about 5A and 5B that were published in the local voter’s guide. What many in our community do not know is that statements in the local voter’s guide are not fact-checked. Under statute, both pro and con statements received from citizens must be merged and published, as submitted and without edits. Please take a moment to listen to my remarks or read a quick summary.  Feel free to share these links in your community. Nothing is more frustrating than misinformation.

Apple Awards Nominations
Each year, the Foundation for Douglas County Schools honors exceptional educators and staff who are inspiring a love of learning in students and are trailblazing extraordinary innovation in our schools. It’s truly such a gift and a joy for our teachers and staff to receive nominations especially when they come from students, former students and their families. 

If there is a DCSD teacher or staff member that has gone above and beyond to make your child’s learning experience positive and their futures bright, please take a few moments to nominate them. All nominations will be posted to the Foundation’s website. 

The nomination window closes on November 13. Winners will be announced at the 2023 Apple Awards Gala in April 2023. Learn more at https://www.foundationdcs.org/nominations. 

Thank you for joining me and The Foundation in showing our amazing teachers and staff the love they deserve!

High School Schedules
Over the past year, our high school leaders alongside school district staff have been collaborating to determine the feasibility of coordinating high school schedules across all nine of our comprehensive high schools. DCSD is continuously evaluating and adding additional academic, elective, career and technical education (CTE), and concurrent enrollment (college credit) opportunities throughout our district based on student needs. As you can imagine, there is no way to offer every opportunity in every building - coordinating schedules would give students access to all programming, regardless of their home high school. In recent years we have seen dramatic increases in the numbers of students wanting to access CTE courses (classes taught by industry experts) and concurrent enrollment courses (where they earn both high school and college credits – tuition free). Last school year alone, over 13,000 students took CTE classes and 8,100 students took advantage of concurrent enrollment programming, saving families $3.7 million in tuition costs. Additionally, students will be able to access programming at the Sturm Collaboration Campus in Castle Rock and the new DCSD Legacy Campus in Lone Tree. 

We believe in examining and navigating through changes together, with engagement from our staff and community. Unfortunately, the high school schedule conversations took place over the past 13 months during a time of multiple significant district leadership transitions. Therefore, the process for district-wide high school schedule transitions did not play out the way we wish it would have - with staff, student, and community engagement at each step. Our high school principals and district leaders are committed to moving forward, using a collaborative approach to complete the work of coordinating schedules.

In the weeks ahead, our high school principals will be working collaboratively with their staff, students, and communities to ensure that they fully understand and address all potential impacts (most of our high schools will see minimal to no impact). If you have any questions, please contact your high school principal.

We greatly appreciate the efforts being made by our administrators, counselors, teachers, and staff to provide these opportunities for our students, as well as take advantage of all programming opportunities in our schools. And, like everything else, we will evaluate and adjust every step of the way to ensure we are making the best possible decisions for all of our students.

Universal Pre-K is Coming
Universal Pre-Kindergarten is coming to Colorado (including Douglas County) beginning in the 2023-2024 school year. This state-funded program will offer families at least 10 hours of high-quality, voluntary preschool in the year before they are eligible to enter Kindergarten. The Douglas County Early Childhood Council will be holding virtual meetings where you can learn more and share your ideas. Click here for meeting dates and times. 

Transportation Challenges
Thank you to our families who utilize DCSD bus transportation to get their children to and from school. We know that too many bus routes are canceled with little advance notice and how frustrating and stressful that is for families. Unfortunately, our school district (like many others) continues to struggle with the bus driver shortage that is affecting schools across the nation. We are doing everything we can to try to minimize the impact on families. For example, we have members of our Transportation staff, including our Director of Transportation jumping in to drive routes when a driver is absent. Sadly, even with that we often do not have enough staff to cover all routes. You can help by spreading the word about our bus driver and transportation job openings to your networks of friends, family and neighbors. We will continue to assess the situation and do everything we can to address it. In the meantime, thank you for your patience, understanding and partnership.

This first six months of serving as your Superintendent has truly been an honor. I love visiting our schools, seeing the joy and excitement on the faces of our children, and hearing the optimism being expressed by staff. All of this is because of you – our supportive families and community members. You make the Douglas County School District such a special place to call home and our students truly have access to the best teachers and staff out there! I will be sending out invitations to future in-person town hall meetings where I hope to connect with many of you! 

We look forward to seeing your amazing children after Fall Break. 

Sincerely,

Erin Kane
Superintendent
Douglas County School District